AKAGI
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AKAGI is a Japanese comic book that started in 1993 written by Nobuyuki Fukumoto about a game called "Mah Jong". It is featured in the weekly magazine "Modern Mah-Jong", and has even been adapted into a movie because of its popularity.
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Story
The title "AKAGI" comes from the name of the main character. He is a young boy who is a very talented gambler and makes remarkable wins in the story. In the first story he starts to play mah-jong against Japanese mafia (Yakuza) for the first time in his life but quickly he understands how the game goes and win. Mah-Jong is a game that involves huge amounts of money and Japanese Yakuza uses it to earn money. So when Akagi first won, it was his first step in to the underground business. Akagi shows incredible talent throughout the story, but he also is a heretic that makes him different from others. In the end he becomes a legend in the underground world.
Characters
Akagi
A young boy who survives from a chicken race. He is the main character. With his talent for gambling, he defeats many professional mah-jong players in various ways and becomes a legend.
Yasuoka
Yasuoka is a dirty detective who is connected to the underground business. He also plays mah-jong and is the first one who realizes Akagi's talent in mah-jong. He also plays a role as a narrator in the comic.
Yagi
Yagi is the first professional mah-jong player that Akagi plays and defeats. He uses techniques to cheat during the game but loses in front of Akagi's ability.
Ichikawa
Ichikawa is a blind professional Mah-Jong player. He somehow seems to be similar to Akagi but Akagi denys it and proves that by defeating him. Ichikawa was a player that would play by the book, while Akagi played in various ways, bringing defeat to Ichikawa.
Urabe
Urabe was a player who represented a Yakuza's family. He and Akagi fought over three million yen. Urabe was the one who made the money rise this high so when he was defeated he was almost killed by the Yakuza.
Washizu
Washizu is an old man who had made a lot of money, and one of the strongest people who has power in the underground. The fact that despite his power, he is human and so someday must die, angers him, making him kill people younger than him. In the book, Washizu and Akagi played mah-jong in a unusual way - they played with glass mah-jong tiles that made the game different in many ways.